England suffered a scare this morning when Ben Stokes was struck on the left hand by Jofra Archer during a net session ahead the First Test against New Zealand, which starts in Mount Maunganui tomorrow night.
The all-rounder immediately returned to the dressing room, but allayed fears over his participation in the opener to bat and bowl during the session.
England opener Dominic Sibley, who looks almost certain to make his Test debut at the top of the order alongside Rory Burns, denied there was any tension between Archer and Stokes following the incident.
He said: “They played at Rajasthan [Royals in the Indian Premier League] together and know each other pretty well. It gets competitive in the nets, but I’m sure it’s all in good spirits.”
Sibley is confident that Archer could prove the difference between the two sides, by making the Kookaburra ball work to good effect, which England’s pacemen have often struggled to do on recent tours.
The Stokes incident aside, Archer has already shown hostility with the ball, striking New Zealand A’s Hamish Rutherford on the helmet during the final warm-up game, which ruled him out from playing any further part. And Sibley said of his England team-mate: “He’s got a special talent, it looks effortless.
“He gets that steep bounce because he releases it from such a high point.
“Most sports, whether it’s rugby, football or cricket, having someone who’s quick, it sort of scares people at certain times.
“Having that pace, it gives batsmen something different to think about.
“It’s massive to have for us in the middle overs.”
Sibley was the leading run-scorer last summer in the County Championship Division One for Warwickshire — in fact, he was the only batsman to pass 1,000 runs, averaging 69.68 and scoring five hundreds.
The 24-year-old has already showed good form on tour in reaching a century in England’s first warm-up match, although he was out cheaply against
New Zealand A last time, falling for just 14.
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Sibley insisted he has not been given any indication of whether he will play in the opening Test, but said: “I had a good net just now and am excited to get going.
“If I do I’ll try to do exactly the same as what I’ve done this season in county cricket.
“I’ll try to get through the new ball, soak up as many balls as I can, and score big hundreds.
“It’s been a strength of mine that once I have got in, I’ve really cashed in.
“Hopefully, if I do play and get through the new ball, I can do the same again.”
New Zealand, meanwhile, are considering giving a Test debut to fast bowler Lockie Ferguson in a bid to provide the hosts with an Archer-style option.
Ferguson, 28, shone at the World Cup by taking 21 wickets, which was one more than Archer’s total, and hitting speeds in excess of 90mph.
And coach Gary Stead said: “Archer’s pace is obviously a point of difference, but we’ve got someone in our squad who bowls at a similar type of speed.
